Questions & Answers about Ten nóż jest ostry.
What exactly does ten mean here? Is it this, that, or the?
Ten is a demonstrative adjective meaning roughly this or that in English. It points to a specific, identifiable object.
- Ten nóż ≈ this knife / that knife / the knife (context decides).
- Polish doesn’t have articles like a or the, so ten often covers the meaning of this / that and can sometimes feel a bit like the (when both speaker and listener know which knife is meant).
So Ten nóż jest ostry most naturally reads as This knife is sharp (or That knife is sharp, depending on context).
Why is it ten and not to? I’ve seen To jest nóż before.